METLAKATLA, AK. (THECOUNT) — Metlakatla police have identified the two people aboard the de Havilland Beaver float plane that crashed into the waters near Metlakatla Monday afternoon as Ron Rash, 51, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The passenger has been identified as Sarah Luna, 31, of Anchorage, a member of Community Health Services.
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A National Transportation Safety Board investigator and two Federal Aviation Administration officials will begin an onsite investigation into the crash, an Tuesday afternoon update from the Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center said.
Taquan Air Flight 20 crashed while landing in the Metlakatla Harbor at around 4 p.m. on Monday. Witnesses reported the plane flipped upon impact and quickly submerged.
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) is mourning the loss of Luna:
“She was excited to serve the community members of Metlakatla, traveling there in partnership with our Diabetes team,” ANTHC wrote in a statement Tuesday.
Luna and Rash were the only people on the plane at the time of the crash. They both died, despite resuscitation efforts by two Guardian Flight medics, reports KTVA.
Geo quick facts: Metlakatla is a census-designated place on Annette Island in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,375; this had grown to 1,405 by the 2010 census – Wikipedia.